Video: NBAA Honors Sheryl A. Barden With the John P. ‘Jack’ Doswell Award
Oct. 15, 2025
At the 2025 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE), NBAA presented Aviation Personnel International (API) CEO Sheryl A. Barden with the John P. “Jack” Doswell Award, which honors lifelong achievement and service to business aviation. Barden fully embodies that spirit as a visionary leader, exceptional mentor, effective industry advocate and champion for forward-thinking workforce initiatives.
Her aviation journey began in childhood, listening at the dinner table as her mother, Janice K. Barden – API’s trailblazing founder – shared stories about the industry’s inspiring culture and shared purpose. Inspired by those early experiences, Sheryl eventually left a successful 17-year corporate career to join API.
Since 2001, she has steadily transformed the company into a premier talent identification and workforce-consulting firm. Building on API’s five decades of experience and work with more than 1,000 FAA Part 91 flight departments, Sheryl and her team help companies of all sizes develop resilient, culturally aligned teams.
As a Certified Aviation Manager and one of NBAA’s inaugural CAM Fellows, Sheryl has served on the NBAA Board of Directors, chaired its Advisory Council and played a key role on the Business Aviation Management Committee. Her leadership has shaped policy, strategy and inclusion across the industry. The honor marks a deeply personal milestone for Sheryl, because her mother, Janice, and stepfather, Chuck McKinnon, are past recipients.
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